Always The Next Mission
by Miran Anders
Summary: Pepper waits while Tony Stark deals with a mission that doesn't go exactly as planned. Post Iron Man 1. One Shot.


_My first foray into the Iron Man fandom. I would place it in a movie category rather than a comic, but this is what is available. This story would be set after the first movie, Iron Man... I do hope you enjoy._

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_IRON MAN: Only The Next Mission_

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It was dark, dark as a deep forest on a late summer's night.

She felt her breath catch as fingertips softly brushed across her cheek, paused for a bare moment on her slightly parted lips, then stroked down to her chin, half floating, half stroking as they dropped to her collarbone, slipping like a ghost between her breasts.

A shudder thrilled though her as his breath sighed softly across her neck, and hands - gentle, precise, a most creative inventor's hands - drifted down to her waist… she heard him barely whisper. _Miss Potts… Miss Potts…excuse me…_

"_Miss Potts_?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere.

Her eyes jerked open as she woke with a gasp, clutching the blankets tight, her voice quite a bit more frantic than was her custom. "What? Who's there?"

For a moment her eyes darted around the dark room in barely controlled horror, not sure where she was – and then, as the lights came up slowly, it registered.

Tony Stark's guest room. Or one of them, anyway.

"Ah… Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Potts. Sorry to startle you. You asked me to wake you at 7:30, or when Mr. Stark returned…" the elegantly cultured voice of Tony Stark's home paused.

"And which is it?" Pepper couldn't quite keep the hope out of her voice – although, since she was talking to a computer, she didn't quite know why she was even trying. _I guess you're only trying to fool yourself, Pep._

"I'm afraid it's 7:30, miss. Perhaps, being a weekend, and seeing as Mr. Stark isn't here yet… you would like to sleep a bit longer? After all, you didn't retire until four AM. You do need your rest."

"Jarvis –" She considered reprimanding the computer for lecturing her, and realized even in her semi-conscious state that it would sound ridiculous. "Thank you. I suppose that might be a good idea."

"Very well, miss."

She rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head. _Oh, and Jarvis? Please get me back into that dream you interrupted, okay?_ She sighed, and tried to relax.

He had been gone since the morning before, and hadn't left any word since. While she knew that if something big had actually happened to _Iron Man_ it would be all over the newsfeeds, she still couldn't keep herself from worrying. Suddenly a thought hit her, and she sat up. "Jarvis?" _Why didn't I think of this before?_

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Ah… do you know where Mr. Stark is?"

"My mainframe _is_ connected to his suit, Miss Potts." She could have sworn there was a slight reprimand in his response.

"Right." She bit her lip. "Can you _tell_ me where he is?"

There was a momentary pause as she imagined Jarvis checking his instructions. "I believe I can, miss. It seems that he is currently crossing the Pacific Ocean."

Her eyes widened. "Coming or going?"

Another pause. "He appears to be on his way home. At his current speed, I would estimate just under two hours before he arrives."

Pepper exhaled. "Okay. I'm going to try to sleep again."

"Shall I inform you when he lands?"

"That would be lovely, Jarvis. Thank you." She rolled onto her side, pulling the blankets up tight. _On his way home. He's probably okay. Or at least, okay enough to get home._ Her eyes closed, and she tried to stop worrying.

But it was far too easy to worry about the man who also happened to be her boss. And even though their relationship had slipped into some new level since he became – she almost laughed – a _super hero_, they hadn't really taken time to define it. Hell, they hadn't _had_ time to define it, at least not yet. It was always the next mission, he hadn't been joking about that. But when they were together, there was a new closeness… or maybe just an acceptance of a closeness they had always shared. Even though she still thought of him - at least, she continually told herself that she still thought of him - as _just_ her boss. Exasperated, she took a deep breath, threw off the covers and sat up again.

"Excuse me, Jarvis? Is there orange juice? Or cranberry?"

"Yes, miss, both. Shall I make coffee as well?"

"No, thanks." She stood up and caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror on the closet door. _Oh, nice look, Potts. You'll have to shower and change before he gets home._ Shaking her head and pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she padded out into the hallway toward the kitchen, still wearing the gray sweatpants and one of her boss's white undershirts that she had found in the guest room closet. There was no way she was going to sleep in the dress that she had worn to work, and since she came straight here from the office to wait–

Distractedly turning a corner, she realized she had inadvertently walked into Mr. Stark's private wing. And directly in front of her, she realized as well, was his bedroom. Pepper shook her head with a sigh and walked in.

It wasn't as if she had never seen it. Plenty of times she had to pick up a forgotten document, or watch, or just make sure whoever he had brought home didn't get lost trying to find her way out of the house. _Everything from picking up dry cleaning to taking out the trash. _ She grinned to herself.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Potts."

"May I have one window, please?"

A single panel faded to transparency and the ocean shimmered in the dawn, traces of pink still reflecting in the early light. Pepper looked out for a few moments, until she realized that what she was looking for was a light streaking through the sky. _You are not going to stand here for two hours, Pepper!_

As she sat on the side of the bed and ran her hand over his pillow, a gentle smile touched her lips. Being in here made her feel more relaxed, made her feel closer to him. Made her feel like everything just might be okay. Then she yawned, and with a shrug, stretched out on top of the luxurious spread and closed her eyes. _Just for a minute, then I'll grab a shower…_

Jarvis, absently monitoring everything from her breathing to the frequency of her brainwaves, decided it would be a good idea to darken the window once more.

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Approximately two hours later it was light outside, but still quite dark in the protected bedroom.

"Five percent on the windows, Jarvis."

"Very good, sir."

Tony Stark slumped onto the side of the bed, sitting even before the light came up dimly. His elbows dropped to his knees, and he rested his head in his hands.

"Can I do anything for you, sir?"

"No." The weariness of his voice was nearly painful. "Thanks. Did you upload the suit?"

"Doing it now, sir. Cataloging the flight details."

"Good. Double check on the mechanical inventory diagnostics. Make sure I didn't leave anything behind, okay? And the stabilizer on the left hand -"

"Doing it now, sir."

Tony nearly sighed. "Thanks."

On the other side of his bed, Pepper stirred, frowning, and opened her eyes. "Mr. Stark?"

It was surely a sign of his mental state that when he turned just enough to see his personal assistant lying on his bed, wearing what appeared to be his workout clothes, he barely reacted. "Hello, Miss Potts." His voice was leaden as he turned away, and she sat up, reaching to put a hand on his back, but stopping just short of actually doing it.

"Are you… okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I was – waiting. It got late. Sorry that I'm –"

He gave no indication that he had heard, or that he had any response.

"Mr. Stark? What happened out there?"

She waited for a few seconds before she tried again. Her voice was gentle, but she couldn't hide her concern.

"…Tony?" She waited again.

"Jarvis told me last night that you were headed for West Africa…"

He sat for a long moment, his back to her, his head bowed. Eventually, he began to speak; so quietly, though, that she had to lean closer to hear.

"I was. There was a village. Two, actually. Although one was more of a gang than a village. The gang had evidently been given a case of machine guns. _My_ machine guns."

Pepper frowned, and spoke softly in the pause. "Who would do that?"

"People who want the land, the mineral rights, and figure that if their mob kills off the people, it will save them time, not to mention the legalities." He took a breath, tried rather unsuccessfully to sound simply annoyed. "And these were particularly nasty vermin, as they decided it would be quicker and easier for them to poison the village well."

"Good Lord…"

"Yeah." He shook his head. "It's a wonderful world." He pulled his undershirt over his head and threw it carelessly toward the closet.

Pepper waited, not knowing what to say.

"They were stupid and badly organized. It didn't take long to clean out the nest."

"Okay…"

"But for some reason, I went back to check on the village… There was this little girl, who got sick from the bad water…" His head dropped forward again, and she waited until she heard him take a deep breath and continue. "Long story short, I figured out how to use the suit to help dig a new well. It took a while… and by the time the men of the village and I had finished…" She saw the fingers of his right hand clench and unclench. "The girl was dead."

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out as he flopped back onto the pillow, his hands over his face. When he spoke, his voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Some superhero."

"Tony." She reached over and put a hand softly on his shoulder. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

With an abrupt movement he pulled his hands away, turned and stared at her, his dark eyes filled with anger. "They thanked me, Pepper. _Thanked_ me. This little girl is _dead_, and –"

"You saved the village."

"But what, one little girl is acceptable collateral damage?"

"I didn't say that –"

"And here I am, standing in my armor like some _god_, and there isn't anything, _anything_ I can do."

She waited. Pepper Potts didn't remain Tony Stark's personal assistant by not knowing when to be quiet.

"And the father, her actual _father_, looked at me and nodded when the head of the village thanked me." His voice caught. "He reached out to shake my hand."

Pepper waited as he stared at the ceiling. His eyes, always dark, seemed more so than usual.

"I pulled off my glove, I took his hand, I said I'm sorry…" He dropped his forearm over his eyes, not wanting to see what his memory served up. "And he just nodded. There was nothing I could do. Nothing… but help dig the grave."

Pepper inhaled sharply, willing herself not to react. It was difficult. "Oh, Tony..."

"Yeah." His breathing was harsh for a minute, and she waited for him to get himself under control. "I may have left some parts behind. I don't know."

"Why?"

"Because I needed to help the men dig without my armor. I needed to just be Tony Stark. Not 'Iron Man'. I needed to just be human…" his voice faded, and she slipped her hand down his arm, taking his hand in hers. "Dammit, Pepper…"

"Yes?"

"She was only three…"

"Oh, Tony…" She brushed the hair from his forehead, then rested her head against his. "You did everything you could."

"Did I?"

"Yes. I know you did." She ran her hand over his head once more, and he abruptly turned, curling into her.

"I wish I knew." A shudder ran through his body as he clung to her, and she wrapped her arms around him. For half an hour he lay wrapped in her arms, not quite weeping, not quite settled. Eventually he quieted, and his breathing slowed.

Pepper blinked back her own tears as she held the man she cared for more than any other in the world. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly before whispering to the room.

"Jarvis. Darken the windows. Don't wake him."

The room faded slowly to black. Tony shifted for a moment, making a small sound, but rested into her arms once more.

In the quiet, in the dark, Pepper Potts did everything she could to hold him together, knowing that she would be there in the morning – indeed, knowing that no matter what their relationship was, she would be there every second he might need her.

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…_please feed the author…_


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